Wire rope making machine



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W. T. MaCCREADE WIRE ROPE MAKING MACHINE Oct. l1, 1949.

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WIRE ROPE MAKING MACHINE v Filed sept. 25, 1945 12 sheets-sheet e nimllLA woe/wim Q3 l//z//A/V [N400/901004;

Oct. ll, 1949. w. T. MMQREAME WIRE ROPE MAKING MACHINE Filed sept.r 25,1945 12 Sheets-Sheet 7 www 12 Sheets-Sheet 8 W. T. MaGCREADIE WIRE ROPEMAKING MACHINE ''lili'ilililulll!!! Oct. 11, 1949.

Filed Sept. 25, 1945 0st. l1, 1949o w11'. MaccREADlE WIRE ROPE MAKINGMACHIN Filedv sept. 25, 1945 12 Sheets-Sheet 9 et. M, l949 w. T.MaccREADnE WIRE ROPE vMAKING MAcHmE Filed sept. 25, 1945. 12 sheets-shaml@ Oct. l, 1949. w. T. Macc'RE-ADIE .2,484,178

WIRE ROPE MKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1945 12 Sheets-Sheet 11HIIIIIMTEHI l www f///// el I A Oct. 115 1949. w. T. MaccREADzE l WIREROPE MAKING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Sept. 25. 1945 W/zz /A/vi.' mi@ @mf/4 07E,

. mWIMN Paienied Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ics WIRE ROPEMAKING MACHINE William T. MacCreadie, Lewisburg, Pa., assignor, by mesneassignments, to Sunbury Wire Rope Manufacturing Company, Sunbury, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application September 25, 1945, Serial No.618,443

15 Claims. l

This invention is a machine for manufacturing wire rope or cable of thetype in which a plurality of wire strands are wrapped around or twistedabout a central core-wire strand.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a wire rope makingmachine of the character referred to, which will be entirely automaticin its operation, and so constructed and arranged that a singleattendant may operate a plurality of the machines simultaneously.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wire rope makingmachine which will require less space for installation and operationthan is possible for the installation and operation of wire ropemachines of the gravity type.

An additional object of the invention is to provide simple means forguiding and controlling the delivery of the finished rope to a wind-upbobbin.

An important object of the invention is to provide means constructed andarranged to becontrolled by movement of the completed rope during itstravel from the haul-E unit to the Windup bobbin, for automaticallymaintaining a predetermined tension on the rope as it is fed to thewind-up bobbin, and to also control the speed of rotation of saidbobbin.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyrecording the length of the completed rope.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means for synchronouslyoperating the strandwire-feed units, the haul-01T unit, the twister dieunit, the wind-up bobbin unit, and the feed control for the latter froma single source of power applied directly to the haul-off unit.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating the wind-up unitof the machine,

Figure 2 is a similar view of the haul-oil! and transmission controlunits,

Figure 3 is also a similar view illustrating the measuring unit and thewire-strand-feeding units,

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are top plan views of the respective unitsillustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3,

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view slightly enlarged,illustrating the mounting at one end of the wind-up bobbin,

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the mounting at theother end of the wind-up bobbin, as well as the transmission control,and means for transmitting power from the haul-off unit,

Figure 9 is a detail fragmentary view'illustrating the mounting for theguide pulley which delivers the completed rope to the wind-up drum,

Figure 10 is an enlarged front elevation and Figure 11 is a top planview illustrating the epicyclic gearing which actuates and controls themechanism for guiding the completed wire rope to the Wind-up bobbin,

Figure 12 is a side elevation partly in section illustrating the ropemeasuring mechanism,

Figure 13 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail sectional View illustrating the gearingfor actuating the registering mechanism,

Figure 15 is a plan view, partly in section, illustrating the speedcontrol transmission and its relationship to the wind-up mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the wire rope making apparatus of the presentinvention comprises a battery of outside-wire-strand-supply-bobbins A, acenter or core-wire-supply bobbin unit B, a twisting die unit C, ahaul-off unit D, an emergency brake mechanism E, an automatic speedtransmission control unit F and a wind-up bobbin unit G. In practicethese several units are operatively associated together to provide a.practicable assembly of wire-rope-manufacturing units, which are usuallyarranged in longitudinal alignment and operated in a coordinated mannerby means to be later described in detail. In this connection, it is tobe understood that in order to adequately illustrate the novel featuresof the invention they are here shown in disconnected views suiicientlylarge to delineate them, and that all of the above identified units areincluded in each of two series of figures, namely Figures 1, 2 and :3and Figures 4, 5 and 6, respectively, and that all of the figures ofeach of these series are to be considered as having been positioned inlongitudinal alignment from left to right, in the order named in theseries, and that they are so arranged that they may all be operatedsimultaneously. The general plan of operation of the assembly of unitsis that the wire strands supplied by units A and B are delivered to thetwisting die unit C, and the completed cablek rope WR is drawn throughthe die by the operation of the haul-ofi unit D. From the last mentionedunit the rope WR is delivered to the Wind-up bobbin unit G, where it iswound upon a bobbin for future use, and from which it may be dispensedin the usual and well known manner.

In practice, the units A and B may be of any desired construction, butit is preferred to employ the wire bobbin feeding arrangement disclosedin Letters Patent No. 2,360,783 dated October 17, 1944. It is to beunderstood that any preferred numberof outside-wire-strands may beemployed in the manufacture of a wire rope in accordance with thepresent invention, depending upon the desired strength of the finishedcable, but for purposes of illustration, and without intending to limitthe invention in this particular, six outside-wire-feeding devices areprovided. Each feeding device comprises a bobbin a, rotatively mountedin a. cradle a', which latter is provided with oppositely extended,axially disposed shafts a*l and a3, respectively, which are rotativelymounted in bearings a4. Each bobbin a is mounted to rotate upon an axisat right angles to axis of rotation of its cradle, and each shaft a2 ismade hollow to permit the wire strand w delivered by the bobbin aassociated therewith, to travel therethrough. 'I'he several wire strandsw are caused to converge as they leave the cradles a2, and to passthrough a guide frame GF in a well-known manner to and through thetwisting die TD in the usual way. To prevent a too rapid unwinding ofthe bobbins a, eachv of the cradles a may be provided with4 af tensiondevice T. These may be of any desired construction, but it is preferredto employ the form illustrated in said Letters Patent No. 2,360,783.

The center or core-wire bobbin b is also rotatively mounted in a cradleb', which is also provided with oppositely disposed, axially projectedshafts b2 and b3vat itsends and which are rotatively mounted in bearingsb4.' The bobbin b is 'l mounted to rotate on an axis at right angles tothe axis of rotation of the cradle b', and the wire strand w' isdelivered from the bobbin through the hollow shaft b2, and then causedto pass through the guide frame GF to the die TD. It is preferred toeiect simultaneous rotation of the cradles a' in coordination with therotation of cradle b', and it is desirable to do this in the mannerillustrated in the above identified patent,

i. e. to provide mechanism actuated by rotation,

of the cradle b' for imparting synchronous rotations to al1 of thecradles a. For this purpose the pulley b5 by means of a belt b'I drivesthe *pulley a5 of the next adjacent cradle a', i. e.vthe

first one immediately above the pulley b5 as viewed in Figure 3. Theshaft a3 of the last mentioned cradle is also provided with a secondpulley a6 which is connected by a belt a'l with the pulley a8 on theshaft a2 of the next adjacent outermost cradle. A second pulley a9carried by the last mentioned shaft a2 is connected with a pulley al1 onthe shaft a2 of the topmost cradle uprights serve to support bearings27, 28 and 23,

respectively. The Wind-up bobbin WB is in the form of a cylindrical drum30, provided with an end fiange, said drum having an axial bore throughwhich extends a bobbin shaft BS. Said bobbin is connected to rotate withsaid shaft by suitable means, a set screw 3l extending through a hub ofsaid bobbin and engageable with the guiding pulley lle of the guideblock lll.

'di shaft, being shown for this purpose. One end of the shaft BSterminates adjacent the location of said set screw and extends into andengages a side bar 32 of a wind-up bobbin cra'dle WC. The other end ofsaid shaft extends through the opposite side bar 33 of said cradle, andalso through bearing 21 to a position beyond the latter.

Extending axially beyond the side bar 33, and

in a manner'to enclose shaft BS, is a short A shaft 36 is slidinglymounted, but held from relative rotation in any desired manner. Theouter portion of the shaft 36 extends 'through and is slidingly/muntedwithin and rotatable with a tubular" shaft 31, which in turn isrotatively .fmunted in the bearing 28.

Rotatively mounted in oneside of the cradle WC is a screw -threaded feedshaft 40 on which is mounted a traveller-guide-blockdl for laying thecompleted rope or cable WR along the drum during the winding operationsofthe latter. A guide pulley 4l for the cable is mounted on said blockl. In order to counterbalance the weight of the shaft and guide block4l, a similar shaft 40 and a dummy block Mb are mounted in the oppositeend of the cradle. The shafts 40 and 40 are each provided with a bevelpinion 42 at one side. mesh with a complemental pinion l2a on a radiallydisposed counterv shaft 43. There are two oppositely disposed countershafts 43, and

they are respectively provided with other pinions 44 which mesh with amaster drive gear 45, rotatively mounted on the shaft 34. Said drivegear 45 is rotated by suitable means such as a sprocket wheel 46 forinstance, which is secured to the hub of said gear 45, said sprocketwheel 46 being driven by an automatically controlled epicyclic unit tobe later described in detail. The shaft BS is provided with a drivingsprocket wheel 4l and the shaft 3'! is provided with a sprocket wheel41'. Saidshaft BS is also provided with an emergency brake 4B, which maybe controlled in any desired manner, but preferably by electromagneticmeans indicated at 49.

The control shaft 36 is provided with an axial bore for the passagetherethrough of the completed rope WR delivered from the haul-off unit,and a tension pulley 50 is mounted on and rotatable with the inner endof the shaft 36, opposite the end of said bore. The completed wire ropeWR is passed around said guide pulley 50, over a second tension pulley5l and from they latter over a guide pulley 52, and then through theFrom the last mentioned pulley the rope is fed to the bobbin WB, so asto be wound upon the latter. The outer end of the shaft 36 extendsbeyond the outer end of the tubular shaft 37, and is rotatively mountedin a supplemental bearing 5t. Adjustably connected with said shaft 36 soas to be movable therewith is an abutment member 55, which limits theexpansion of a compression spring 56, interposed between said abutmentand the bearing 56. Also secured in suitable manner to said shaft I3l?is a movable contact member 5l, so positioned as to operate between andin conjunction with contact mem Each of these pinions l bers 58 and 59which control the circuits to a reversing motor and relay RM. Said motorserves to automatically control any desired type of speed controltransmission. An electrically controlled Reeves type transmission RT hasbeen selected for the purposes of illustration and without intent tolimit the invention thereto, it being understood that other types ofcontrol of such a transmission are well-known in the art. As shown, saidtransmission is provided with a driving shaft :c 'and a driven shaft zmounted in suitable bearings and in parallel relationship andoperatively connected by any desired form of intermediate transmissionmechanism. For purposes of illustration and without intending to limitthe invention in this respect, a common form of belt and pulleytransmission is shown in the drawings. In this type the driving shaft:l: is rotated by means of a sprocket wheel :r2 which in turn is drivenby a chain :c3 from a sprocket wheel 41a on the shaft 31. The drivenshaft is provided with a sprocket wheel :r4 which is connected to thesprocket wheel 41 on the shaft BS by means of a chain Mounted on therespective shafts :c and .'r, so as to rotate there-I with are the fixedcone pulleys :1:8 and 1:2. Slidingly mounted on the respective shafts :cand a," are the adjustable cone pulleys :c6 and as". The pulley .1:8 iscomplemental to the pulley :r6 and the pulley :r9 is complemental to thepulley x". The usual belt :1:10 engages said pulleys in drivingrelationship. The pulleys :r6 and :l:rl are shiftable with respect totheir complemental pulleys .1:a and :e9 by means of a rocker arm o,pivotally supported in suitable manner adjacent said pulleys, one end ofsaid rocker arm having a screw threaded engagement with acorrespondingly threaded portion o' of a control shaft o2. Said shaft o2is rotated by means of gearing o3 driven from a gear reduction box o4connected with the driving shaft of the motor RM.

The arrangement of the Reeves transmission and the contact members 51,58 and 59 is such that when the rocker arm o is in neutral position, thesprocket wheel 41 is driven at the same speed as sprocket wheel 41B'onthe shaft 31. Also the motor RM remains neutral. However, when the motorRM is selectively actuated by closing either circuit through contacts 58and 59, the screw shaft o2 will be correspondingly rotated, so as toconcurrently move the rocker arm o, resulting in a change of speed ofshaft By this means the contact 51 may be yieldingly set in an initialneutral position between the contacts 58 and 59. If, however, the speedof rotation of the sprocket wheel 41 should exceed the commensuratecapacity of the haul-off drum unit D to supply the completed rope, thetightening of the travelling rope will cause the shaft 36 to move in adirection to increase the tension upon the spring 56, so as to causecontact 51 to engage the contact 59. This will energize the motor andrelay RM and cause it to rotate the shaft o2 in a direction to actuatethe rocker arm o so as to move the cone :r6 toward the cone x8 and tomove the cone :1:9 away from the cone x7, thereby reducing the speed ofrotation transmitted from the shaft :n to the shaft zc. In a similarmanner should the speed of rotation of the shaft BS be too slow, thetension maintained by the rope on shaft 36 is slackened, whereupon thespring 56 will move the contact 51 into engagement with contact 58. Thiswill effect a reverse rotation of the motor RM to the shaft o2, so thatthe latter will cause the rocker member to separate the cones 0:8 and:1:8

and to bring the cones ar" and :r9 closer together, which will increasethe speed of the driven shaft .'c and thereby increase the speed ofrotation of sprocket wheel 41. Therefore, the shifting of the contact 51between the contacts 58 and 59, so as to alternately engage the latter,will automatically maintain a proper speed differential between thesprocket wheels 41 and 41".

The epicyclic control for the wind-up bobbin WB comprises a shaft 10,which receives its power from the shaft 31 in suitable manner, such asby means of sprocket wheels 1| and 12, driven by a chain 13. Rotativelymounted in a frame member 2| is a sleeve 14 carrying a sprocket wheel 15at one end and a bevel pinion 16 at its other end. The shaft 10 extendsaxially through said sleeve and the two are relatively rotatable.Secured to and rotatable with said shaft 10 is a carrier 11, fromopposite sides of which project pins 18, carrying oppositely disposedrotatable bevel pinions 19 and 19, both of which are rotatable upon saidpins 18 and in mesh with the pinion 16. Rotativelymounted in a suitablebearing and in axial alignment with the sleeve 14 is a second sleeve 14awhich is provided at one end with a bevel pinion '|6a meshing with thepinions 19 and 19B, and having a driving pinion 8|l at'its other end.IThe adjacent end of shaft 10 passes through the sleeve 14a inrelatively rotative relationship. The pinion 8| is driven from a speedreduction transmission 82, which is actuated by a reversible motor andrelay 83. Said pinion 8| is also in mesh with a drive pinion 84 securedto and rotatable with a Screw-threaded shaft 85, which is rotativelymounted in suitable bearings 81. A movable contact member 88 is arrangedto travel along said shaft during rotation of the latter and in a wellknown manner, so as to alternately engage complemental contact members89 and 89'. The last mentioned contacts control the reversing circuitsof the motor 83. In operation, the shaft 10 rotates within the sleeves14 and 14a and causes the pinions 19 and 19a to travel in an orbit aboutthe shaft while they are in mesh with the pinions 16 and 16a. The motortransmission 82 normally operates the drive sleeve 14a, which throughthe pinions 16a, 19, 19a and 16, effect rotation of the sprocket wheel46. The direction of rotation of the pinion 16a is changed at each endof the limit of travel of the contact 88. In this manner the threadedfeed shafts 40 and 40a are driven concurrently, at the same speed and inthe same direction. During operation of the machine sprocket wheel 46usually rotates somewhat faster or somewhat slower than the shaft 34,while the guide block 4| is in operation, and this difference in thespeeds of rotation is compensated for by the epicyclic unit, whichinsures a uniform movement of the guide block 4|, regardless ofvariations in the speed of the machine. It is to be understood that thegearing ratios of the driving mechanism and the pitch ratios of therespective threads of the several screw threaded shafts are soproportioned as to operate said shafts in properly timed relationship.

The haul-off unit D includes a cradle d, which is provided at one endwith an axially disposed tubular shaft d', rotatively mounted in thebearing 29. Extendingthrough the said tubular shaft is a central shaftd3, which is disposed in longitudinal alignment with the shaft 36, butheld against rotation by means of a bracket on bearing 54a. Said shaftd3 is also provided with an axial bore for the passage of the finishedrope WR. The other end of the cradle is provided with an axiallyprojected tubular shaft d4, which is rotatably mounted -in a bearing d5.

The haul-olf drum cl is mounted on and is rotatable-with a transverseshaft d", which is rotatively supported in the cradle d. One end of saidshaft d" is mounted in a bracket d and is provided with a bevel piniond9 located adjacent said bracket. .A longitudinally disposed drive shaftd10 extends along one side of the cradle and f is mounted in saidbracket ds so as to be rotatively ksupported within the cradle.Slidingly mounted on the drive shaft dw and rotatable therewith is a.sleeve d11 which is provided with relatively spaced bevel pinions d12and 113, which are positioned to be selectively engaged with the piniond", by slidable adjustments of said sleeve d, so as to control thedirection of rotation of the shaft d10. Said sleeve dl1 may be shiftedin any desirable manner. Fixedly secured to the shaft d' at a positioninside of the cradle is a drive gear d14 which, through an intermediategear train dw, is connected with a drive pinion ds on the adjacent endof the drive shaft d10, so that rotation of thefcradle will impartsimultaneous rotative movements to said drive shaft.

Rotation of the cradle d is effected by means of a driving motor DM, thedriving shaft of which is connected by means of a belt h. Said beltdrives a pulley h secured to the shaft d. Rotation of the entire machinemay be arrested automatically by means of a brake band h2 which engagesa drum h3 on the shaft d', said brake being automatically controlled bya solenoid h4. Such a braking arrangement is fully described andillustrated in said Letters Patent No. 2,360,783 hereinabove referredto, and inasmuch as no claim per se-is being made to the brakingarrangement, it is considered sufficient to conventionally illustratethe same. Fixedly secured to the shaft d' is a gear h5 which meshes witha pinion h6 mounted upon a counter shaft h", the latter being supportedin supplemental bearings 54 and 54h. Also mounted on said counter shaftis another pinion ha, which meshes with pinion ihi on the shaft` 31. Bythis arrangement power from the motor DM is transmitted to the Wind-upbobbin unit G without interfering with the operations of the tensionregulating mechanism'.

Rotatively mounted on the shaft d4 is a twister die TD, the bore of thedie being in axial alignment with the bore of said shaft. The die is soconnected with the shaft d4 that it will be rotated concurrently withthe rotative movements of the cradle d. The twister die unit may be ofany well known construction and is illustrated conventionally. Alsomounted on the shaft d4 is a gear bI which meshes with a pinion b3 on acounter shaft b9. with a pinion b1 which meshes with a pinion bu onshaft b2 of the core wire bobbin cradle b. By means of this arrangementrotation of the cradle b is effected by and in synchronism with rotativemovement of the haul-olf drum cradle. l

If desired, an automatic measuring apparatus M may be interposed betweenthe core-wire bobbin unit B and the twister die, so as to record theamountof wire w. delivered by said unit, and thereby indicate the lengthof the completed rope, which last will tally with the amount of 'saidwire w' that passes through the machine.

Referring more particularly to Figures 12, 13 and 14, 90 designates adriveshaft which is releasably connected to and supported in suitablemanner by the outer end of the hollow shaft b? of the bobbin cage b'.The other end of the 8 shaft is secured to one end of a cage m. Forpurposes of illustration and without intent to limit the invention inthis particular, said shaft b2 of a wire feeding bobbin device, whichhas an axial bore for passage of a wire strand w', is provided with' aninternally threaded axial recess 9| in register with its bore, toreceive the exteriorly threaded shank 92 of a coupling head 93. Saidhead and its shank are provided with an axial bore in alignment with thebore of the shaft b2, and also with an internally threaded recess 94,which is detachably engaged by a reduced threaded portion 95 on the endof the shaft 90. Said shaft 90 is also. provided with an axial bore inalignment with the bore of the shaft b2.

The other end of the cage m is rotatively supported by a shaft 96 alsoprovided with an axial bore 91 and rotatively supported by a bearing 98.

Rotatively mounted on the shaft'90 is a sleeve 99, to which is secured acarrier piece |00, so as to rotate therewith, and rotatively mounted insaid carrier piece, at diametrically opposite positions, are two bevelpinions |0| and |0Ia. Mounted on the other end of the sleeve 99 androtatable therewith is a gear |02, which is driven by a gear |03 mountedon and rotatable with the shaft 90, through the medium of transmissiongears |04 and |04a suitably supported in relation thereto.

Also rotatively mounted on the shaft 90, at a position adjacent one endof the cage m is the hub |05 of a bevel pinion |06, which is in meshwith the pinions |0| and |0|8. A pinion |01 is mounted on and rotatablewith said hub |05, said pinion |01 being in mesh with a driving pinion|08, carried by one end of a counter shaft |09 which is rotativelymounted in bearings ||0 supported on the outer side of cage m. A bevelpinion is secured to the other end of said counter shaft in a positionto mesh with a complemental pinion ||2, carried by a cross shaft H3. Thelast mentioned shaft is rotatively mounted transversely of the cage m,and carries a measuring drum MD, which is rotatable therewith.

Rotatively mounted on the sleeve 99 is the hub ||4 of a bevel gear H5,which latter is in constant mesh with the pinions |0| and lla. Alsosecured to said hub H4 is the registering-mechanism-drive pinion ||6,which is operatively connected with the pinion 43 on the driving shaftof a counter and registering mechanism R,

Said counter shaft is provided A'rotation of the hub |05.

over the drum MD, beneath the guide pulley I8, and finally out throughthe bore of the shaft 96.l

During such travel the shaft 90 is constantly rotated by the cage b. Asthe work passes over the periphery of the drum D, the latter is causedto rotate, thereby causing the intervening transmission elements carriedby the cage to effect Said driven rotative movements 'of hub |05,through the medium of the pinions |06, 0| and |0|a, impart correspondingrotative movements to the pinion ||5, thereby the above describedmeasuring mechanism. If it should be found desirable to omit thecounting unit from the wire rope making mechanism, the bobbin unit B maybe arranged to deliver directly to the twisting die in the mannerdisclosed in said previously mentioned patent.

From the foregoing description, it. will be readily understood thatrotative movements are imparted to the haul-oil drum cradle d by themotor lDM through the belt h and pulley h' and that all rotativeelements are driven by and in coordination with the rotative movementsof said cradle. For instance, the twister die is rotated by the shaft d,and the core wire unit is rotated through the gears b", b', countershaft b9 and gears b1o and bu, which by-pass the measuring unit. Therotation of the cradle b' through the belt and pulley connections impartsimultaneous and correlated rotations to the cradles a', so that thecore wire is fed to the twister head and the cover wires are arranged toconverge to the twister headand to be twisted or wrapped around the core-wire during its passage through the machine. Rotation of the cradle dimparts rotative movements to the haul-off drum d6 through the medium ofthe gears d, 1115, shaft d1 and pinions i9 and d1 or dla. The shaft 31is rotated from the shaft d' by means ofthe gears h5, h6, counter shafth" and gears hs and h9 and by means of this connection the cradle of thewind-up bobbin is also rotated. concurrently the Reeves transmission isoperated by the sprocket wheel 4'!b and belt :1:3 so that the saidtransmission through the sprocket wheelv 41 will actuate the threadedscrews for guiding the nished rope to the bobbin, said bobbin being alsorotated concurrently with the rotation of the cradle.-

Likewise, by means of the shaft 'IU whichis operated from sprocket wheel1|,.the epicyclic gearing which controls the concurrent rotation of theshafts 40 and 40a is also operated in synchronism with the othermovements.

In operation, the core wire w' from the bobbin b is passed through thehollow shaft b2 of its cradle, through the guide frame GF and finallythrough the twister head TR. 'I'he cover'wires w are also simultaneouslydrawn from their bobbins a through the hollow shafts a2 of theircradles, and from there through the guide frame GF and then into andthrough the die TR. In the initial set-up of the machine a suitablecable is spliced or otherwise secured to the end of the wires whichprotrude from the twister die, said cable being passed several timesaround the haul-olf drum d6, sov that thev completed rope may be drawnthrough the die when the motor DM is energized. When suiiicent rope hasbeen made to reach the wind-up drum the cable is detached as the machineis then ready for continuous operation. As the completed cable is drawnthrough the die by the drum d it is passed through the bore of the shaft36 and then around the pulleys 5U, 5|, 52 and 4| to be engaged with thewind-up bobbin WB. It is preferred to have the pulley lila initially atone extreme of its travel on the shaft 40. Thereupon, as the bobbin WBis rotated, the epicyclic gears set the shafts 40 and lill in motion sothat the pulley 4la will be caused to intermittently travel back andforth over a course parallel with the bobbin so as to lay the ropeevenly along the bobbin, the distance of travel in either directionbeing determined by y 10 through the electrical control of the motor RMso controls the speed of rotation of the shaft 40 as to maintain aproper ltension on the completed rope during the time that it is beingfed to the drum. If desired, a brake 48 may be employed to assist thearresting of the winding bobbin cradle and the bobbin carried thereby,although the transmission F may possess sufficient sturdiness to takecare of this emergency. When it is desired to stop the operation of themachine altogether, the brake h2 may be utilized in a well known manner.

The advantages of the invention will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art to which it belongs. For instance, it will beobserved that a very simple form of wire rope manufacturing machine isprovided which by reason of the disposition of the wire supplying unitswill require much less space for installation and operation than ispossible for the installation and operation of wire rope machines of thegravity type which requires a rather lengthy tandem arrangement of thebobbins. Another important advantage is that simple and efficient meanshave been provided for guiding and controlling the delivery of thefinished rope from the haul-ofi drum to the Awind-up bobbin, togetherwith means for automatically maintaining a predetermined speed ratiobetween the feed of the completed rope from the haul-off drum and thespeed of delivery of the completed rope to the wind-up bobbin. It willalso be noted that if desired a rope measuring unit may be placed withinthe operated layout, the same'being so arranged as to be operated byrotative movements of the core wire bobbin cradle b'. A furtheradvantage is that any windup bobbin WB may be readily taken out forreplacement by removing the shaft BS. A very important advantage is thatthe wind-up bobbin may be made of any desired length, without increasingits diameter, as may be necessary to compensate for any loss of capacityto receive the completed rope, which might otherwise arise if for anyreason the diameter of the drum should have to be reduced. Anotheradvantage is that by reason of the employment of a transmission of theReeves type, necessity of employing friction clutches is completelyavoided.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described anoperative manner of constructing and using the same, although withoutattempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or allof the forms of its use, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for rotating saidbobbin shaft, a drive gear rotatively mounted upon and arrangedconcentrically with respect to the bobbin shaft, an actuator shaftmounted in said cradle, a rope-guide-member mounted to be reciprocatedby said actuator shaft, so as to deliver rope to said bobbin, a countershaft operatively connecting said drive gear and said actuator shaft,means for counterbalancing said guide member,

means for imparting independent rotative movethe relative spacing of thecontacts 89 Vand 89a.

During these movements the transmisSiQn E' 76 means' for pivotallysupporting said cradle, a

wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbin carriedby said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for rotating said bobbinshaft, a drive gear rotatively mounted independently of said cradle andin concentric relation with respect to the bobbin shaft, meansindependent of said bobbin shaft rotating means for rotating said drive,an epicyclic unit gear for con-y cradle, a bobbin carried by said shaftand rotatable therewith, means for rotating said bobbin shaft, a drivegear rotatively mounted upon and in concentric relationwith respect tothe bobbin shaft, means independent of said bobbin-shaft rotating meansfor rotating said drive, an epicyclic unit gear for controlling thespeed of rotation of said gear, means operated by said epicyclic unitfor imparting rotative movements to said drive gear, and means foroperating said epicyclic unit independently of the rotation of saidbobbin shaft.

4. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for rotating saidbobbin shaft, oppositely disposed actuator shafts rotatively mounted insaid cradle and arranged in parallel relationship, a rope-guide-memberreciprocatively operated by one of said actuator shafts, acounterbalance member reciprocatively operated by the other actuatorshaft, a drive gear rotatively mounted upon and concentric with saidbobbin shaft, means operated by said drive gear for impartingsimultaneous rotative movements to said actuator shafts and in the samedirection, means for controlling the speed of rotation of said drivegear, and means associated with said speed control means forautomatically and intermittently reversing the rotative movements ofsaid actuator shafts, so as to correspondingly change the direction oftravel of said guide and counterbalance members.

5. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft and rotatable therewith, a speed controltransmission, means for drivingfsaid transmission, means fortransmitting power from said transmission to said shaft, and meansengaged by the rope and governed by the tension thereof during itstravel to said bobbin for controlling the operation of saidtransmission.

6. In a machine for manufacturing Wire rope a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft and ro` tatable therewith, meansI for rotatingsaid shaft, means for delivering the rope to said bobbin, an axiallydisposed shaft having axially sliding engagement with said cradle andhaving means engageable with the rope during its travel to said' bobbin,so that sliding adjustments areimparted .12 to the slidable shaft inresponse to changes of tension on said rope, and means operated bysliding movements of said slidable shaft for controlling the speed ofrotation of said bobbin shaft. 7.. In a machine for manufacturing wirerope, a wind-up bobbin unit comprising a bobbin cradle, means forpivotally supporting said cradle, a wind-up bobbin shaft rotativelymounted in the cradle, a bobbin carried by said shaft and rotatabletherewith, means' for rotating said shaft, means for delivering the ropeto said bobbin, an axially disposed shaft having axially slidingengagement with said cradle, a guide pulley rotatively supported by saidslidable shaft and engageable with the rope during its travel to saidbobbin, so as to impart slidable movements to said slidable shaft inresponse to changes in the tension on said rope, and means operatedl bysliding movements of said slidable shaft for controlling the speed ofrotation of said bobbin shaft.

8. 'In a, machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,

` a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarrier by said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for rotating saidshaft, means for delivering the rope to said bobbin, a slidinglysupported shaft arranged axially with respect to said cradle, a guidepulley carried by said slidable shaft in a position to be engaged by therope during its travel to the bobbin, .so as to impart sliding movementsto the shaft in response to changes in the tension on said rope, avariable speed transmission unit for controlling the speed of rotationof said bobbin shaft, means for transmitting power to said transmissionunit, means for transmitting power from said transmission unit to saidbobbin shaft, and means operated by sliding movement of said slidableshaft for controlling the operations of said transmission unit.

9. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a, bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for rotating saidshaft, means for delivering the rope to said bobbin, an axially disposedshaft having sliding engagement with said cradle, a guide pulley carriedby said slidable shaft in a position to Abe engaged by the rope duringits travel to the bobbin, so that sliding movement will be imparted tosaid shaft by changes in tension of said rope, a variable speedtransmission unit for controlling thevspeed of the bobbin shaft, meansfor transmitting power thereto, means for connecting said transmissionunit with said bobbin shaft, a reversible motor controlling theoperations of said transmissionV unit, and means operated by slidingmovements of said slidable shaft for controlling the direction ofoperation of said motor. l

10. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a wind-up bobbin unitcomprising a bobbin cradle, means for pivotally supporting said cradle,a wind-up bobbin shaft rotatively mounted in the cradle, a bobbincarried by said shaft andgrotat able therewith, means for rotating saidshaft,

means for supplying power to said transmission unit, means fortransmitting power from said unit to said bobbin shaft, a reversingmotor for controlling the direction of rotation of said transmission,said motor having oppositely disposed contacts to control the directionof rotation thereof, a Contact on said slidable shaft complemental tosaid first mentioned contacts, a. spring yieldingly biasing saidslidable shaft to a predetermined position, and means controlled by therope during its travel to said bobbin for moving said shaft against thetension of said spring, so as to selectively engage said motor contacts.

11. A wire rope manufacturing machine of the character described havingin combination a wire twisting die, a haul-olf unit so connected withsaid die as to rotate the same, means for rotating said haul-off unit onan axis corresponding to the axis of rotation of said die, a wind-upbobbin cradle, a bobbin mounted therein, an axially disposed slidinglysupported shaft engaging said cradle and having means for engaging therope during its travel to the bobbin, means operated by rotation of saidhaul-ofi unit for rotating said bobbin, a transmission unit forregulating the speed and direction of rotation of said bobbin shaft, andmeans controlled by said slidable shaft for controlling operations ofsaid transmission unit.

12. A wire rope manufacturing machine of the character described havingin combination a wire twisting die, a haul-off unit so connected withsaid die as to rotate the same, means for rotating said haul-olf unit onan axis corresponding to the axis of rotation of said die, a wind-upbobbin cradle, a bobbin mounted therein, a slidingly supported, axiallydisposed shaft engaging said cradle and having means for engaging therope during its travel to the bobbin, means operated by rotation of saidhaul-off unit for rotating said bobbin, a transmission unit forregulating the speed and direction of rotation of said bobbin shaft,means for driving said transmission unit, means operated by rotativemovements of said haul-od unit for driving said transmission unit, meansproviding a driving connection between said transmission unit and saidbobbin shaft, and means actuated by sliding movements of the slidableshaft for controlling the operations of said transmission unit.

13. A wire rope manufacturing machine of the character described havingin combination a Wire twisting die, a haul-oi! unit so connected withsaid.

die as to rotate the same, means for rotating said haul-off unit on anaxis corresponding to the axis of rotation of said die, a wind-up bobbincradle, a bobbin rotatively mounted therein, a slidingly supported shaftengaging said cradle and having means for engaging the rope during itstravel to the bobbin, means operated by rotation of said haul-oir unitfor rotating said bobbin, a transmission unit for regulating the speedand direction of rotation oi' said bobbin shaft, means operated byrotative movements of said haul-of! versible motor for controlling thedirection of rotation of said transmission, said motor having relativelyspaced contacts for controlling said direction of its rotation, acontact carried by said slidable shaft and so positioned as toselectively engage either of said motor contacts, and a springyieldingly acting upon said shaft so as to normally hold said shaftcontact in neutral position with respect to said motor contacts.

14. A wire rope manufacturing machine of the character described havingin combination a twister die, a haul-ofi' unit, so connected with saidtwister die as to rotate the latter, means for rotating said haul-01Tunit on an axis corresponding to the axis of rotation of said die, meansfor feeding a core wire strand and a plurality of outside wire strandsto said twister die, means connected with said haul-oil unit for drawingthe wire strands through said die, means interposed between the wirestrand feeding bobbins and the twister die for engaging the core wireduring its travel to said twister die, an indicator operated by saidlast mentioned core-wire-engaging means, and means actuated by rotativemovement of the haul-off drum for also actuating said indicatoroperating means.

15. In a machine for manufacturing wire rope, a rotatable bobbin, meansfor rotating said bobbin, means for delivering rope to said bobbin, alongitudinally slidable shaft, said shaft movable in a direction towardor away from an end f said bobbin, means on said shaft engageable withsaid rope in its travel to said bobbin so that sliding adjustments areimparted to said slidable shaft in response to changes of tension onsaid rope, and means operated by sliding movements of said slidableshaft for controlling the speed of rotation of said bobbin.

WILLIAM T. MACCREADIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS

